Incubator.



H. L. DAVIS INCUBATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 19. 1916.

' 1,259,726. Patented Mar. 19,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET ll olrflrdl: Hawb:

ATTQRNEY-S H. L. DAVIS.

INCUBATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-I9. m6.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918..

a SHEETSLSHEET 2.

INVENTOR m M m T T A UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD L. DAVIS, OF PLUMSTEAD TOWNSHIP, OCEAN COUNT-Y, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB TO HAROLD L. WATSON, OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

INCUBAT 0B.

Patented Mar. 1a, 1918.

Original application filed August 80, 1913, Serial No. 787,422. Divided and this application flied August 19,

1916. Serial No. 115,744.

T '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD L. DAVIS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of llumstead township, in the county of Ocean and State of New Jersey, have; invented certain new and useful Improvements in Incubators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates more particularly to incubators wherein there are a plurality of or other means upon which the-eggs are supported, may be turned upside down or otherwise shifted so that all of the eggs 1n the tray may be simultaneously repositioned cubator may also-be'iprovided withs'uitable when desire A- further object of my invention is to provide means in an incubator-having a plurality of compartments for simultaneously turning or qtherwise shifting the eggs in an incubator as when the sameare on 't'raysin each compartment and comprisin means whereby'one or more of the egg ho ding or supporting means in a compartment may be disconnected from the turning or shifting mechanism and maintained or locked in fixed position when desired.

A still further object of my invention is to provide in an incubator having-a plurality of compartments means extending outside of the incubator and its compartments for simultaneously or selectively turning or shifting the egg-supporting means within said compartments to turn the'eggs in that compartment.

My invention further includes all of the other various novel objects and features of construction and arrangement hereinafter more definitely specified and described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front view of an incubator embodying one form of the invention; Fig. 2, a trans- "crse sectional view through the incubator;

I compartments form "no be provide Fig. 3, a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through a portion of the incubator showing the parts on an enlarged scale; Fig. 4, a top plan view of one of the trays which is illustrated as showing one manner of supporting the eggs; -.Fig. 5, a transverse sectional view through one of the trays, and Fig. 6 a longitudinal sectional view through one of the trays.

In the form of the invention shown in the drawings the incubator comprises a cas ing 1 mounted on suitable supportin legs 2. The incubator also, as herein 8 own, comprises a second casing 4 mounted on supporting legs '5 in turn mounted on the top of the lower casing-thus .forming a, double deck incubator. -Each casing is divided by longitudinal partitions 6 and also by a plu rality' of transverse partitions T thereby forming a plurality of-compartments 8 loouted side by side and'end to end. Suitable apertures or the'-like'(not: shown) are pro- "vlded-inqthe-several :wallszof the casing and in the partitions for "affording a circulation of fresh air-through theco n artments dun mg the operationwf the incu storm-The inmean's'for supplying thehe'at to the 00mveyed to and'from e incubator from a-suitable heating device-b ;m eans of'the ipes IQ and 11' and circulat through suitable coils or the like-(not-shown) within the compartments, and ifrdesired, suitable thermostats and dampers (not shown) may be arranged to ..control andvregulate the temperature within the-compartments. Theh'cat supplying means and method of regulating the same, as well as means forvcontrolling the amount-of moisture vin the air within the part of the present invention. r For the" purpose of supporting the eggs in the com artments,suitable means may which may assume various formsrof construction, and the form (lisclosed is shown merely for the purpose of illustration. One embodiment of this construction, as shown in the drawings, may comprise one or more trays 15 of any suit able construction in each compartment and preferably so arranged as to permit the free access of air to the eggs therein and to allow the trays to be turned either side up or otherwise shifted and still properly support the eggs. The form of tray shown in the drawings comprises a frame constructed in two sections 17 and 18, each section being provided with a wire netting 19 upon one of which nettings the eggs rest when in' prw sition on the tray, the other netting serying to hold the eggs in place thereon th e eggs being first placed in one section of the tra: and the other section of the tray then being placed on the first-mentioned section thereby holding the eggs in position.-

Each of the trays 15 adapted, in the form of the invention illustrated, to be receivedhy suitable supports, each' of which coinriscs suitable end members '23 and 24 ]oined by suitable spacing bars :25, the end members 23 and 24: being provided with tr'unnion's 2T'whereby the supports are pivotally secured to the transverse partitions of the incubator. For the purpose of removably holdingthe trays securely with respect to the supports, the former .are received between paired ledges or projections 30 and 31 preferably formed integrally with the end members 23'and ill, the ledges being provided with springs 32 or other sultable means which engage the trays and hold them firmly in position in the supports. For dctermining the extent to which the trays may he slid into the supports lugs or stops 35 may be providedand secured to the, upper and lower members of each tray to engage the ends of the ledges 30'and 31 on members 23 and 2-1: as best shown in Fig. 5, when the trays are slid into the supports,

these, stops also serving to prevent sidewise shifting ofthe trays when shifted as hereinafter described.

For the purpose of permitting the eggs in the various compartments to be simultaneously or selectively turned or shifted when desired, suitable means are which may be of various constructions and of different arrangements of'the elements of the entire mechanism since the means used may be of any desiredcharacter or constructiorn-those shown in the drawing merely for the purpose of illustrating one form of construction comprising a suitable gear 40 preferably secured adjacent one end of each traja'suppo'rt and which, in practice,

' -may conveniently form one of the end members as, for example, the end member 24, which gear is arranged to mesh with an operating gear 42 mounted on a shaft 43 extending from one end of each casing to the other and journaled in suitable apertures in tie end walls of the casings. one or both cllds of the shaft passing through these walls and being provided with a crank 45 by means of which the shaft can be conveniently 'irotated when desired. In lthe form of ihcubator shown in the drawing,

'tion of the latter by means of shaft 4 the trays in each compartment may be simultaneously rotated or shifte'd'as desired. For

- preferably consisting of a set screw 46 which t is apparent. that any means or arrange? -'ment of .ne incubator construction could readily b;...-used in place of that described" for permitting any selected'egg supporting .tion of: the common shifting means for the ,to prevent their shifting during the' movement of the trays, these partitions being" rovided ,Howeve'r, in certain constructions the ad- .be placed at any desired ,angle or turned two trays are provided in each compartment, although in practice the number of trays in each compartment may be varied as desired, the trays being of such size and so disposed in the compartments that the gears 40 on their respective supports will mesh with the operating ear 42 in that comp irtment so that by e ecting the otathe purpose of permitting the selective turn ing of the eggs in any compartment as by' the rotation of thetrays in any compartment or compartments withoutdisturbing the trays in any other compartment means are provided whereby any of the operating gears may be disconnected from their respective shafts when desired, suchmeans normaliy'serves to secure the gear to the shaft and which may be readily loosened, thus causing the gear to idle on'the shaft. and hence be inoperative to rotate the gears 40 on the adjacent tray supports when the shaft is revol :d to permit the trays iii-that compartment to remain in fixed position, it being understood that an operating gear is referably arranged ineach compartment;

means to remain inoperative by the opera several compartments If desired, the tra .with suitable adjusts lepartitions 50 or other suitable means for supporting theeggs in relatively fixed relationcin the trays held in place .by pins 51 extendihg"throug-h the nettings 19 as best shownin Fig. 6.

justablepartitions'may be dispensed with if desired, or other suitable means employed to prevent'the shifting or sliding of the eggs within the trays'.

It will be readily understood that in an incubator constructed "as hereinbefore. described, the various-trays will be held in fixed position with regard to their supports and that the trays ina be readily revolved from the exterior oft 0 incubator so as to entirely over, thereby permitting the proper positioning and adj ustment of the eggs during the period of incubation whenever necessary, the stops 35 being efl'e tive to prevent the trays from sliding from their supports during the turning operation. Moreover, it will be understood that by disconnecting any desired operating gear from its shaft the trays in that compartment in which the gear my be provided 7 is ositioned may be maintained in fixed pochanges and modifications may be made in the various instrumentalities emfployed in the invention and in the details 0 construe tlon and arrangement thereof as deslred,

'and the invention may be adapted for use with other forms of incubators and with any desired form of egg supporting means other than those shown herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus. described my invention, I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States:

'1. In an incubator, the combination of a plurality of separate compartments with common means adapted to turn the position of the eggs in each of the compartments, said means including an arrangement for operatively connecting or d1sconnectmg the common turning means for each "compartment whereby the eggs in the several compartments may be selectively or simultaneously operated by said turning means.

2; In an incubator, the combination of a plurality of separate compartments, egg

supporting means within each of said compartments and common means for simultaneously .or selectively turning the eggs in the several compartments as may be desired by the operator.

3. The combination with an incubator having a plurality of compartments, a removable cgg supporting tray within each compartment, a shaft extending longitudinally through said compartments, :1 gear associated with each of said trays and adapted, when operated, to turn the tray in its compartment and a gear positioned on said shaft in each of said compartments adapted to drive said first-mentioned gear, one of said gears arranged to be 'operatively connected or disconnected from its driving means whereby the shaft may operate to simultaneouslyor selectively turn the trays in the several compartments.

4. In an incubator, the combination with a plurality of compartments egg-supporting means within each of sai compartments, means extending outside of-said incubator and operative to shift the position of said egg-supporting means of the several com-.

partments to turn the eggs therein, gear mechanism on said egg supporting means adapted to be operated by said shifting means, the construction being such that the mechanism may be arranged to ermit the gear mechanism in any desire compartment to remain unoperated by said shiftmg means.

- In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of August, A. D.

HOWARD L. DAVIS. 

